The two Democrats running for Massachusetts secretary of state stepped into WBUR's studios for an hour-long debate Monday morning.
It was the first debate scheduled between longtime incumbent William Galvin and Tanisha Sullivan, president of the NAACP's Boston chapter since 2017, as the pair move to shore up support ahead of the statewide primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 6.
Galvin has served as secretary of state since 1995, and the 71-year-old is seeking his eighth term with this year's campaign. If Sullivan, a 48-year-old attorney and civil rights activist, unseats Galvin, she would become the first woman and first person of color elected to the role.
(Rayla Campbell, an AM radio host, is running unopposed in the Republican Party primary for the role. It's likely the winner of the Democratic race will face off against Campbell in the November general election.)
The debate is the second in a series of five moderated events meant to help voters make decisions in this year's statewide elections; the series kicked off with a half-hour state auditor debate between the two Democrats in the race.
WBUR, WCVB Channel 5 and The Boston Globe planned all five debates. Tiziana Dearing, host of WBUR's Radio Boston, moderated the first two.
This story was originally published by WBUR.